Per un intelletto collettivo sociale. Piccole note per una teoria e una pratica dell’esodo

The article describes the leap of time that is affecting our society, with the transition from vertical society (which was based on the three polarities of capital, work with the state in the middle) to the horizontal one and then to the circular society, with its positive aspects such as the sharing economy and the negative ones such as the consequences on social composition as the centrality of the individual, the disintermediation, the dissolution of belonging mechanisms. To reconstruct a collective social intellect that can change the dominant model we need to start from the desire for proximity, inclusion, the many local experiences that put the alternative into practice and show that another type of development is possible, experiences and practices to network. The starting point is what remains of communities and their links with places, in their positive sense of communities of care and working in opposition to communities closed in themselves for localistic and rancorous drifts

Measuring the free fall of antihydrogen

After the first production of cold antihydrogen by the ATHENA and ATRAP experiments ten years ago, new second-generation experiments are aimed at measuring the fundamental properties of this anti-atom. The goal of AEGIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) is to test the weak equivalence principle by studying the gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter with a pulsed, cold antihydrogen beam. The experiment is currently being assembled at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator. In AEGIS, antihydrogen will be produced by charge exchange of cold antiprotons with positronium excited to a high Rydberg state (n > 20). An antihydrogen beam will be produced by controlled acceleration in an electric-field gradient (Stark acceleration). The deflection of the horizontal beam due to its free fall in the gravitational field of the earth will be measured with a moire deflectometer. Initially, the gravitational acceleration will be determined to a precision of 1%, requiring the detection of about 105 antihydrogen atoms. In this paper, after a general description, the present status of the experiment will be reviewed

Radiological risks from irradiation of cargo contents with EURITRACK neutron inspection systems

The radiological risk for the population related to the neutron irradiation of cargo containers with a tagged neutron inspection system has been studied. Two possible effects on the public health have been assessed: the modification of the nutritional and organoleptic properties of the irradiated materials, in particular foodstuff, and the neutron activation of consumer products (i.e. food and pharmaceuticals). The result of this study is that irradiation of food and foodstuff, pharmaceutical and medical devices in container cargoes would neither modify the properties of the irradiated material nor produce effective doses of concern for public health. Furthermore, the dose received by possible stowaways present inside the container during the inspection is less than the annual effective dose limit defined by European Legislation for the public

Mirafiori e le altre - Abstract della ricerca - 2006

Obiettivo di questo lavoro è indicare possibili modelli di riorganizzazione e valorizzazione economica del complesso territoriale di Mirafiori, favorendo il dibattito sulle sorti di uno spazio fondamentale dell'area metropolitana. La metodologia impiegata incrocia due strumenti d'analisi: il confronto fra casi di studio e la realizzazione di un database di interviste

Profiling mTOR pathway in neuroendocrine tumors

The serine/threonine kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays a central role in regulating critical cellular processes such as growth, proliferation, and protein synthesis. The study of cancer predisposing syndromes within which neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) may arise has furnished clues on the involvement of mTOR pathway in sporadic diseases so far. Recent comprehensive analyses have definitely shown activation of mTOR pathway in both experimental and human sporadic NETs. Upstream regulators of mTOR (PTEN and TSC2) have been found mutated in sporadic PNETs. Activation of mTOR pathways in NETs is already demonstrated by expression profiles analysis that revealed downregulation of TSC2 gene and alterations of TSC2 and PTEN protein expression in the vast majority of tumors well-differentiated tumors. Moreover, a global microRNA expression analysis revealed the overexpression, in highly aggressive tumors, of a microRNA (miR-21) that targets PTEN reducing its expression and therefore leading to mTOR activation as well. Overall, these clues have furnished the rationale for the use of mTOR inhibitors the treatment for PNETs. With the recent approval of everolimus (mTOR-targeted drug) for the treatment of advanced PNETs, this paradigm has been effectively translated into the clinical setting. In this review, we discuss mTOR pathway involvement in NETs, the clinical evidence supporting the use of mTOR inhibitors in cancer treatment, and the current clinical issues that remain to be elucidated to improve patients\u2019 management. \ua9 Springer-Verlag France 2014

Iron Binding Properties of Recombinant Class A Protein Disulfide Isomerase from <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>

The protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family comprises a wide set of enzymes mainly involved in thiol–disulfide exchange reactions in the endoplasmic reticulum. Class A PDIs (PDI-A) constitute the smallest members of the family, consisting of a single thioredoxin (TRX) module without any additional domains. To date, their catalytic activity and cellular function are still poorly understood. To gain insight into the role of higher-plant class A PDIs, the biochemical properties of r<i>At</i>PDI-A, the recombinant form of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> PDI-A, have been investigated. As expressed, r<i>At</i>PDI-A has only little oxidoreductase activity, but it appears to be capable of binding an iron–sulfur (Fe–S) cluster, most likely a [2Fe-2S] center, at the interface between two protein monomers. A mutational survey of all cysteine residues of r<i>At</i>PDI-A indicates that only the second and third cysteines of the CXX­X­C­KHC stretch, containing the putative catalytic site CKHC, are primarily involved in cluster coordination. A key role is also played by the lysine residue. Its substitution with glycine, which restores the canonical PDI active site CGHC, does not influence the oxidoreductase activity of the protein, which remains marginal, but strongly affects the binding of the cluster. It is therefore proposed that the unexpected ability of r<i>At</i>PDI-A to accommodate an Fe–S cluster is due to its very unique CKHC motif, which is conserved in all higher-plant class A PDIs, differentiating them from all other members of the PDI family

Cultural heritage investigations using cosmic muons

Cosmic rays are a constant, free source of radiation that can be exploited in various ways to probe heavy and extended objects. Analyzed with proper detection systems, they can produce radiographic as well as tomographic images of bulky materials. Several applications have been proposed, in particular in the domain of security checks, and some are presently fielded for routine use. In this paper, cosmic muon technology is presented, and its possible use in the field of cultural heritage is described

Monte Carlo simulations of a stability monitoring system based on tracking cosmic rays

This paper describes the results of preliminary Monte Carlo simulations to investigate feasibility, performances and limitations of an original application of cosmic ray tracking to monitor static stability of civil structures, in particular historical buildings, where conservation constraints are severe and the time evolution of eventual deformation phenomena may be of the order of months or years. The simulated system consists of three or more particle detectors vertically aligned and linked together with the considered building. When a cosmic ray crosses all the measuring detectors, its track can be reconstructed and the reciprocal position of detectors can be determined. Continuous measurements allow to ascertain possible variations in detector positions related to deformations of the studied building